Stand for supporting bags and the like

ABSTRACT

A U-shaped stand for supporting a flexible garbage bag and having side panels formed with keys which releasably interlock with keyways in a base to hold the stand rigidly assembled while permitting easy disassembly of the stand.

United States Patent 1 Foster 1 June 5, 1973 [54] STAND FOR SUPPORTINGBAGS AND THE LIKE 75 inventor: John A'. Foster Rockford, Ill.

[73] Assignee: J. L. Clark Manufacturing Co.,

Rockford, Ill.

22 Filed: Dec. 10,1971 21 Appl.No.: 206,751

[52] U.S. Cl. ..248/97, 248/99, 248/150 [51] Int. Cl. ..B65b 67/00 [58]Field of Search ..248/97, 99, 100,

[ 56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 48,083 I 6/1865 0 Morlan..248/97 1,432,349 10/1922 McFarland ..287/20.92 D

3,045,834 7/1962 SeiZ ..21 1/177 3,186,667 6/1965 Meur ..248/97 837,14811/1906 Thompson ..248/97 2,801,895 8/1957 Gass ..287/20.927

OTHER PUBLICATIONS An Automatic Bag-Holder, American Agriculturist,4/1/88 Page 271.

Primary ExaminerRoy D. Frazier ta xemiwrRps y Bqnck Attorney-Wolfe,Hubbard, Leydig Voit & Osann,

[57] ABSTRACT A U-shaped stand for supporting a flexible garbage bag andhaving side-panels formed with keys which releasably interlock withkeyways in a base to hold the stand rigidly assembled'while permittingeasy disassembly of the stand.

9 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures STAND FOR SUPPORTING BAGS AND THE LIKEBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a stand comprisinga horizontal base panel and two upright side panels adapted when securedtogether to form a U-shaped support for various articles such as an opengarbage bag.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The general aim of the'present invention is toprovide in a stand of the above character novel connections between thebase panel and the side panels and comprising keys and keyways which canbe assembled and interlocked quickly and conveniently to form jointshold ing the base and side panels in relatively rigid U-shaped relationduring service use while permitting easy disascally attractive andstructurally sound alinement betweenthe assembled panels while enablingconnection of either of the side panels to either end of the base.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become moreapparent from the following detailed description when taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of anassembled stand embodying the novel features of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary exploded view of the side panels andthe base panel of the stand shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged exploded fragmentary crosssection takensubstantially along the line 33 of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-section taken substantiallyalong the line 4-4 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of the base panel shown inFIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a cross-section taken substantially along the line 6-6 of FIG.5 and showing one of the side panels assembled partially to the basepanel.

FIG. '7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 but showing the side panel assembledfully to the base panel.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT and draped downwardlyover the upper ends of the side panels so as to be held in an openposition.

Herein, the side panels 11 and the base 12 all are molded fromrelatively rigid plastic and each comprises a flat plate, the base beingrectangular in shape and being formed with a downwardly projectingperipheral flange 15 (FIG. 2) adapted to rest on a cabinet or the like.The two side panels are identical to one another and each is formed witha peripheral flange 16 projecting inwardly from the inboard side of thepanel. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the top and bottom surfaces 17 and 18of each side panel are flat while the side edge surfaces 19 areconcavely curved to enhance the appearance of the panel. The upper endsof the concave side edge surfaces 19 of each panel merge with the endsof the top surface 17 on a rather sharp reverse curvature and, at theirlower ends, the concave edge surfaces terminate adjacent vertical sideedge surfaces 20 (FIG. 2) leading upwardly from the ends of the bottomsurface 18.

In accordance with the present invention, keys 21 are formed on anddepend from the lower surfaces 18 of the side panels 11 and are sized tofit into and interlock releasably but rigidly with recesses or keyways23 in the base 12 to enable quick assembly and disassembly of the stand10 when the latter is to be used and then subsequently knocked down andstored. Moreover, the base 12 is uniquely formed to initially locate theside panels 11 in the correct positions on the base and 'to guide thekeys into the keyways during assembly so that the user may convenientlyinsert the keys into the keyways without difficulty.

More specifically, two keys 21 are molded integrally with and spacedalong the bottom surface 18 of each side panel 11. One key is locatednear one extreme end of the bottom surface 18 (see FIG. 5) while theother key is spaced horizontally from the opposite end of the bottomsurface by a distance approximately equal to the length of the key. Eachkey is shaped as a rectangular plate which is disposed in a generallyhorizontal plane and whose inboard edge is substantially coplanar withthe inner edge of the flange 16 on the side panel, the outboard edge ofthe key being spaced inwardly from the outer face of the side panel.Narrow webs 25 (FIG. 3) of lesser width than the keys are substantiallycentered relative to the keys and join the latter integrally to thebottom surface 18 of the associated side panel.

In carrying out the invention, depressed right angular steps are formedalong two opposite margins of the base 12 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) and, as aresult, the upper surface 30 of each margin is spaced below the uppersurface 31 of the main portion of the base while an upright wall 33 isdefined between the two upper surfaces for locating and backing the sidepanel 11. The keyways 23 are formed through and open upwardly from thedepressed margins and are located adjacent the opposite ends of themargins, there being two keyways extending along each margin tocorrespond to the keys 21 on the side panel ll. Each keyway comprises awide rectangular slot 35 (FIG. 5) of slightly greater width than the keyand formed with parallel inner and outer edges. The inner edge of eachslot 35 is coplanar with the vertical locating wall 33 while the outeredge of the slot is spaced slightly inwardly of the extreme outerperiphery 15 of the base.

As shown in FIG. 5, one of the pair of wide slots 35 in each depressedmargin of the base 12 is located near one extreme end of the marginwhile the other wide slot is spaced some distance from the opposite endof the margin, the positioning of the slots relative to the ends of themargins corresponding inversely to the positioning of the keys 21relative to the ends of the bottom surface 18 of the side panel 11.Leading from one end of each wide slot is a narrow rectangular slot 37whose width is less than the width of the keys 21 and just slightlygreater than the width of the connecting webs 25. The edges of eachnarrow slot 37 parallel those of the associated wide slot 35 and arespaced inwardly of and centered relative to the edges of the wide slot.Both narrow slots 37 in the same depressed margin lead in the samedirection from the associated wide slots 35 and thus the closed end ofone narrow slot is located near one end of the margin while the closedend of the other narrow slot is located near the midpoint of the margin.

To assemble the stand 10, each side panel 11 is located in an uprightposition with its flange 16 facing inwardly and is lowered endwisetoward the upper surface 30 of the depressed margin in the base 12 whilebeing held offset horizontally from one end of the margin to cause thekey 21. located near the end of the panel to be in approximate registrywith the mediately located wide slot 35 and to cause the other key to bein approximate registry with the wide slot at the end of the margin (seeFIG. 2). As the panel is lowered, the inner edges of the keys 21 and thebottom inboard edge of the flange 16 engage the locating wall 33 andthereafter guide the panel edgewise and downwardly as the keys aretelescoped downwardly into the wide slots 35 (see FIG. 6). By virtue ofsuch engagement, the assembler can easily feel when the keys are alinedhorizontally with the wide slots thereby to enable quick and convenientinsertion of the keys into the slots.

After the keys 21 have been inserted into the wide slots 35, the sidepanel 11 simply is moved edgewise and horizontally to slide the websinto the narrow slots 37 and to cause the keys to lock beneath the edgeportions of the narrow slots as shown in FIG. 7, the bottom inboard edgeof the flange 16 engaging the locating wall during such movement toinsure alinement of the webs with the narrow slots prior to entry of thewebs into the slots. The side panels may be quickly disassembled fromthe base 12 and flattened for storage simply by reversing the assemblysteps. I

In the assembled stand 10, the bottom inboard edge of the flange 16 isengageable with the locating wall 33 to restrict inward and downwardtilting of the side panel 11 under the weight of the garbage in the bag13. Such engagement, together with the interlocking fit be tween thekeys 21 and the narrow slots 37, make the side panels substantiallyrigid with the base and capable of supporting the weight in the bag. Asshown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the interlocking fit between the keys and thenarrow slots is rigidified by inclining the upper and outer surfaces 40of the keys downwardly and outwardly at a small angle a. The inclinedsurfaces 40 seat against similarly inclined bevels 41 (FIG. 4) on theouter unclersurfaces of the narrow slots to prevent rocking of the sidepanel. In addition, two raised ribs 45 (FIGS. 3 to 5) are formed atspaced locations on the upper surface of each side margin between thekeyways 23. The vertical distance between the upper surfaces of the ribsand the lower surfaces of the bevels 41 is somewhat greater than thevertical distance between the surfaces 40 of the keys 21 and the bottomsurface 18 of the side panel 11. Thus, the ribs cause the midportion ofthe flange 16 to flex or bow upwardly somewhat to keep the uppersurfaces of the keys seated tightly in the keyways. As a result, arelatively tight but releasable fit can be maintained between the uppersurfaces of the keys and the lower surfaces of the keyways without needof forming the keys and keyways to extremely close tolerances. Inaddition, the ribs offer frictional resistance against edgewise slidingof the side panels on the base.

To help keep tension on the bag 11, the upper inner surface (FIG. 3) ofeach key 21 is inclined downwardly and inwardly from the horizontal atan angle b which is slightly less than the angle a. In addition, thewebs 25 are inclined downwardly and outwardly from the vertical at anangle equal to the angle b. As a result, the side panels 11, wheninstalled, tend to lean outwardly just slightly as shown in FIG. 4 tokeep the mouth of the bag stretched open.

importantly, all of the surfaces of each side panel 11 are flush withthe corresponding surfaces of the underlying base 12 in the assembledstand 10 so that the stand presents an attractive appearance. To helpachieve the flush relationship, the inner edge portions of the narrowslots 37 project horizontally from the 10- eating wall 33 by a distancenot greater than the horizontal depth of the inner grooves definedbetween the upper surfaces 50 of the keys 21 and the bottom surface 18of the side panel and, because the outer edge portions of the narrowslots fit snugly into the outer grooves, the bottom inboard edge of theflange 16 lies closely adjacent the locating wall 33. In addition, the

width of the flange 16 is substantially equal to the width of the uppersurface 30 of the depressed margin of the base 12 so as to make theoutboard face of the panel generally flush with the correspondingvertically extending flange 15 on the base. Finally, the spacialrelationship between the webs 25 and the narrow slots 37 is such thatthe webs engage the closed endsof the slots and prevent further edgewisesliding of the side panel 11 at the same time the vertical edge surfaces20 on the panel move into flush alinement with the underlying flange 15on the base. Accordingly, the stand presents a pleasing appearance sincethe surfaces of the panels conform to those of the base. i

Advantageously, the keyways 23 in one of the depressed margins of thebase 12 are oriented oppositely of the keyways in the other margin toenable use of either side panel 11 at either end of the base and toavoid the need of molding left and right hand panels. That is, thenarrow slots 37 in one margin lead from their respective wide slots 35in a direction opposite to that of the narrow slots in the other margin.In addition, the end and mediately located wide slots 35 in one marginare located generally diagonally of their counterparts in the othermargin. Thus, by turning one of the panels side-for-side, the keys 21 onthe panel may be alined with and inserted in the keyways 23 at theopposite end of the base.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the present inventionbrings to the art a new and improved stand 10 which may be easilyassembled and disassembled but which, when assembled, is adequatelyrigid to support the weight normally imposed on the stand. The sidepanels 11 may be used interchangeably at either end of the base 12 andconform to the lines of the base to enhance the appearance of the stand.

I claim as my invention:

1. A U-shaped stand comprising a horizontal base and two side panelsupstanding from two opposite margins of the base, each of said marginsbeing depressed and having an upper surface spaced below the uppersurface of the base to create an upright wall between the two surfaces,upwardly opening recesses formed through the two opposite end portionsof each of said depressed margins, each of said recesses comprising awide slot extending along said depressed margin and having one side edgecoplanar with said wall, each of said recesses further comprising anarrow slot leading from one end of said wide slot and having side edgesextending generally parallel to and spaced inwardly from the sideedgesof said wide slot, both of the narrow slots in each depressed marginleading in the same direction from the associated wide slots, a pair ofwebs of narrower width than said narrow slots and depending from andspaced along the bottom surface of each side panel, and a key on thelower end of each web, said keys being narrower than said wide slots andbeing wider than said narrow slots whereby each side panel may beassembled with and locked releasably to said base by moving the sidepanel endwise and downwardly to insert said keys into said wide slotsand then by moving the side panel edgewise and horizontally to slidesaid webs into said narrow slots and lock said keys beneath the sideedge portions of the narrow slots with the bottom surface of the sidepanel resting against the upper surface of said depressed margin andwith the inboard bottom edge portion of the side panel lying adjacentsaid wall.

2. A U-shaped stand as defined in claim 1 in which the side edges ofeach narrow slot are centered with respect to the side edges of theassociated wide slot.

3. A U-shaped stand as defined in claim 1 in which the inboard edge ofeach key is coplanar with the inboard bottom edge portion of theassociated side panel.

4. A U-shaped stand as defined in claim 3 in which an inwardly openinggroove is located on the inboard side of each web and between the uppersurface of the associated key and the lower surface of said side panel,the horizontal depth of said groove from the bottom of the groove to theinboard side of said side panel being substantially equal to thehorizontal distance between said wall and the inboard side edge of theassociated narrow slot to enable the inboard bottom edge portion of theside panel to lie adjacent said wall.

5. A U-shaped' stand as defined in claim 4 in which said webs and theclosed ends of said narrow slots are located along said side panel andsaid depressed margins in such positions that the two upright endsurfaces of each side panel are alined flush with the corresponding endsurfaces of the base when the ends of said webs engage the closed endsof said narrow slots to stop edgewise and horizontal sliding of saidside panel.

6. A U-shaped stand as defined in claim 1 in which the narrow slots inone side margin each lead in one direction from the associated wideslots while each of the narrow slots in the other side margin lead inthe opposite direction from the associated wide slots.

7. A U-shaped stand as defined in claim 1 further including at least onerib located between the keyways in g each margin and upstanding from theupper surface of such margin to engage the bottom surface of therespective side panel.

8. A U-shaped stand as defined in claim 7 in which the verticaldimension between the upper side of said rib and the lower surfaces ofsaid narrow slots is greater than the vertical dimension between theupper surfaces of said keys and the bottom surface of said side panel tocause the latter surface to flex upwardly and force the upper surfacesof the keys into engagement with the bottom surfaces of the narrowslots. A

9. A U-shaped stand comprising a horizontal base and two side panelsupstanding from two opposite margins of the base, upwardly openingrecesses formed in' the two opposite end portions of each of saidmargins, each of said recesses comprising wide and narrow slotsextending along said margin with the narrow slot leading from one end ofthe wide slot and having side edges spaced inwardly from the side edgesof the wide slot,

both of the narrow slots in each margin leading in the same directionfrom the associated wide slots, a pair of webs of narrower width thansaid narrow slots and depending from and spaced along the bottom surfaceof each side panel, a key on the lower end of each web, said keys beingnarrower than said wide slots and being wider than said narrow slotswhereby each side panel may be assembled with and locked releasably tosaid base by moving the side panel endwise and downwardly to insert saidkeys into said wide slots and then by moving the side panel edgewise andhorizontally to slide said webs into said narrow slots and lock saidkeys beneath the side edge portions of the narrow slots, and a pluralityof ribs located between the recesses in each margin and upstanding fromthe upper surface of such margin to engage the bottom surface of therespective side panel.

1. A U-shaped stand comprising a horizontal base and two side panelsupstanding from two opposite margins of the base, each of said marginsbeing depressed and having an upper surface spaced below the uppersurface of the base to create an upright wall between the two surfaces,upwardly opening recesses formed through the two opposite end portionsof each of said depressed margins, each of said recesses comprising awide slot extending along said depressed margin and having one side edgecoplanar with said wall, each of said recesses further comprising anarrow slot leading from one end of said wide slot and having side edgesextending generally parallel to and spaced inwardly from the side edgesof said wide slot, both of the narrow slots in each depressed marginleading in the same direction from the associated wide slots, a pair ofwebs of narrower width than said narrow slots and depending from andspaced along the bottom surface of each side panel, and a key on thelower end of each web, said keys being narrower than said wide slots andbeing wider than said narrow slots whereby each side panel may beassembled with and locked releasably to said base by moving the sidepanel endwise and downwardly to insert said keys into said wide slotsand then by moving the side panel edgewise and horizontally to slidesaid webs into said narrow slots and lock said keys beneath the sideedge portions of the narrow slots with the bottom surface of the sidepanel resting against the upper surface of said depressed margin andwith the inboard bottom edge portion of the side panEl lying adjacentsaid wall.
 2. A U-shaped stand as defined in claim 1 in which the sideedges of each narrow slot are centered with respect to the side edges ofthe associated wide slot.
 3. A U-shaped stand as defined in claim 1 inwhich the inboard edge of each key is coplanar with the inboard bottomedge portion of the associated side panel.
 4. A U-shaped stand asdefined in claim 3 in which an inwardly opening groove is located on theinboard side of each web and between the upper surface of the associatedkey and the lower surface of said side panel, the horizontal depth ofsaid groove from the bottom of the groove to the inboard side of saidside panel being substantially equal to the horizontal distance betweensaid wall and the inboard side edge of the associated narrow slot toenable the inboard bottom edge portion of the side panel to lie adjacentsaid wall.
 5. A U-shaped stand as defined in claim 4 in which said websand the closed ends of said narrow slots are located along said sidepanel and said depressed margins in such positions that the two uprightend surfaces of each side panel are alined flush with the correspondingend surfaces of the base when the ends of said webs engage the closedends of said narrow slots to stop edgewise and horizontal sliding ofsaid side panel.
 6. A U-shaped stand as defined in claim 1 in which thenarrow slots in one side margin each lead in one direction from theassociated wide slots while each of the narrow slots in the other sidemargin lead in the opposite direction from the associated wide slots. 7.A U-shaped stand as defined in claim 1 further including at least onerib located between the keyways in each margin and upstanding from theupper surface of such margin to engage the bottom surface of therespective side panel.
 8. A U-shaped stand as defined in claim 7 inwhich the vertical dimension between the upper side of said rib and thelower surfaces of said narrow slots is greater than the verticaldimension between the upper surfaces of said keys and the bottom surfaceof said side panel to cause the latter surface to flex upwardly andforce the upper surfaces of the keys into engagement with the bottomsurfaces of the narrow slots.
 9. A U-shaped stand comprising ahorizontal base and two side panels upstanding from two opposite marginsof the base, upwardly opening recesses formed in the two opposite endportions of each of said margins, each of said recesses comprising wideand narrow slots extending along said margin with the narrow slotleading from one end of the wide slot and having side edges spacedinwardly from the side edges of the wide slot, both of the narrow slotsin each margin leading in the same direction from the associated wideslots, a pair of webs of narrower width than said narrow slots anddepending from and spaced along the bottom surface of each side panel, akey on the lower end of each web, said keys being narrower than saidwide slots and being wider than said narrow slots whereby each sidepanel may be assembled with and locked releasably to said base by movingthe side panel endwise and downwardly to insert said keys into said wideslots and then by moving the side panel edgewise and horizontally toslide said webs into said narrow slots and lock said keys beneath theside edge portions of the narrow slots, and a plurality of ribs locatedbetween the recesses in each margin and upstanding from the uppersurface of such margin to engage the bottom surface of the respectiveside panel.